tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post3945821069561869761..comments2024-03-28T19:23:37.979-05:00Comments on Althouse: "And how have I taken all of this? And why is it when attacked I rarely spoke out or seemed overly upset?"Ann Althousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-17642131255843041402020-03-25T09:51:31.920-05:002020-03-25T09:51:31.920-05:00Like it or not, there is such a thing as public op...Like it or not, there is such a thing as public opinion. It is an informal court that can levy heavy penalties, including financial. If he were still around you could ask Fatty Arbuckle.Banjohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04812369386453202712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-78854399078718314262020-03-25T08:59:59.525-05:002020-03-25T08:59:59.525-05:00I'm going to swell with pomposity here and quo...<br />I'm going to swell with pomposity here and quote some Latin: "Quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi," literally "What is permissible for Jupiter is not permissible for a bull". Whether anything is permissible to genius or not, so long as it doesn't break the law, the same might not hold for entertainers.<br /><br />If Cosby or Weinstein had been acquitted or if no one brought them to court, people would still have problems with their work, because of the allegations and what they implied about them. Sometimes you can separate the maker from the work, but in Allen's case, that's harder, since he puts so much of his personality into his films. <br /><br />If we're not talking about putting Woody (or Mia) in prison or banning their work, anybody can think whatever they want and argue about it if they like. The argument won't be resolved. I think there's another Latin phrase about no accounting for taste.Lurker21https://www.blogger.com/profile/05692740653467688670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-6767034566545145902020-03-25T01:00:49.100-05:002020-03-25T01:00:49.100-05:00I would never say artists get a "pass" f...I would never say artists get a "pass" for doing wrong: "I'm an artist" is not a defense to any modern crime or civil cause of action.<br /><br />Woody Allen was never charged with a crime or been sued in tort. Nor has he sued his accuser sued for defamation, for harm caused by what he claims are false allegations. As neither side chose to avail themselves of legal process, or perhaps were unable to do so (e.g. statute of limitations, or inability to show damages), we are all left without the fact finding and jury verdict that would have shed light on whether he is in fact a criminal person, as with Weinstein, or is merely just accused of doing bad things.<br /><br />So, what are we to make of Woody Allen? Granted, he probably has *moral* defects. Even severe ones. BUT: many (most?) great artists were not morally good people. Hemmingway murdered himself. Gauguin raped underage girls. Picasso was a chronic adulterer, and Frank Lloyd Wright abandoned his wife and children and ran off with another man's wife. William S. Burroughs got drunk and accidentally killed his wife. Ezra Pound was an anti-semite. Norman Mailer got drunk and stabbed his wife in the chest with a knife, twice. Charles Dickens had an affair with an 18-year old, then divorced his wife with whom he fathered 10 children. Woody Allen is alleged to have molested his underaged adopted daughter, a charge he denies. Big deal.<br /><br />Proper treatment of women and children was never a prerequisite to creating works of art. I'm not going to stop enjoying Woody Allen, just like I'm not going to stop enjoying any art because of what the person who made it may have said or did.Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13154974934179330668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-52627953187783981532020-03-25T00:31:20.665-05:002020-03-25T00:31:20.665-05:00Woody Allen's antagonists probably did him a f...Woody Allen's antagonists probably did him a favor by complaining about Hachette publishing his book. He quickly found another publisher, and is even now receiving free publicity. It even got "banned," so now you have to buy it and see what all the fuss is all about. Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13154974934179330668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-58071573245532908952020-03-25T00:18:49.729-05:002020-03-25T00:18:49.729-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13154974934179330668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-90635961287329839462020-03-24T19:24:58.453-05:002020-03-24T19:24:58.453-05:00Woody was very a smart and funny guy which smart a...Woody was very a smart and funny guy which smart and funny people--the kind who comment here approve and appreciate--and then he got famous and modestly rich and no longer felt it necessary to bow to the moral norms most think important. "I'm an artist!" At that point malignant nihilism took the wheel and steered him into the queasy squalor Nabokov wrote about so amusingly but (probably) not in the belief it was acceptable.Banjohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04812369386453202712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-18904162195481168522020-03-24T18:50:13.688-05:002020-03-24T18:50:13.688-05:00I've long considered Woody Allen a bit of a cr...I've long considered Woody Allen a bit of a creep. But I oppose this self-censorship by Hachette. Currently for sale from the highly tuned morals of the Hachette Book Group (using its "Phoenix" imprint) is "Commandant of Auschwitz," the biography of Nazi Waffen-SS commander of Auschwitz Rudolph Hoess. No ordinary Nazi, Hoess was Obersturmbannführer of the Death Heads Unit. Look, I understand. Hachette has to draw the line somewhere. And good thing the Millenials at Hachette have such a poor knowledge of history, otherwise, they'd have to stand around outside for lunch hour again.<br /><br />https://www.hachette.com.au/rudolf-hoess/commandant-of-auschwitzGingerBeerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18133501750392935390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-68863640705232738902020-03-24T18:24:00.121-05:002020-03-24T18:24:00.121-05:00The fact that Mia Farrow was heavily doing Frank S...The fact that Mia Farrow was heavily doing Frank Sinatra and perhaps seeking an excuse for doing so, lessens the impact of her testimony to me.Josephbleauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12407587570806062403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-56325088498991897532020-03-24T16:35:58.575-05:002020-03-24T16:35:58.575-05:00Sorry, Ken B.Sorry, Ken B.Nichevohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12591460407621898458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-64245283439816168422020-03-24T16:35:44.467-05:002020-03-24T16:35:44.467-05:00According to Allen, he never acted as a surrogate ...According to Allen, he never acted as a surrogate father for any of Mia's children. They lived separately throughout their relationship, he on the East side of Central Park, she on the West Side. <br /><br /><br />Some relationship!<br /><br /><br />She was his girlfriend, they were were her children, and she acted as their parent. He claims to have had no parental relationship to those children.<br /><br />A bunch of useless bloody loonies!Nichevohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12591460407621898458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-40698599998502842252020-03-24T15:48:06.094-05:002020-03-24T15:48:06.094-05:00One of the reasons I read Althouse everyday is tha...One of the reasons I read Althouse everyday is that the quality of the comments is often (not always) very high. On this stream, Phidippus, KenB Lucien, Ryan, Lurker21, Sylwester, BigMike, Mccullough, rocean, and others make points that are thoughtful and reasonable, and either reflect my thinking, or provoke my thinking. For some reason, this particular comment thread has avoided the "your mother wears combat boots" "No your mother wears combat boots" kind of exchange. Is it because there is no Trump in this comment thread?hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09683425888380610689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1495977381602618312020-03-24T14:53:37.071-05:002020-03-24T14:53:37.071-05:00The heart may want what it wants, but the mind can...<i>The heart may want what it wants, but the mind can evaluate whether that want is better denied than indulged, and can keep the heart's wants in check.</i><br /><br />You sound eerily conservative here, Bob...I Callahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05685117264945267646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-18274426606702993982020-03-24T14:37:27.283-05:002020-03-24T14:37:27.283-05:00"He married his daughter. Not his biological ...<i>"He married his daughter. Not his biological daughter (not that that matters), but the daughter for whom he was acting in loco parentis. That arrangement gave him a power over her that should not be excused."</i><br /><br />According to Allen, he never acted as a surrogate father for any of Mia's children. They lived separately throughout their relationship, he on the East side of Central Park, she on the West Side. She was his girlfriend, they were were her children, and she acted as their parent. He claims to have had no parental relationship to those children.<br /><br />Still, one would think an older man would have enough propriety, self-restraint, and grace to not involve himself romantically with one of his girlfriend's barely adult adopted daughters. "The heart wants what it wants," a line from Emily Dickinson, is a too glib and self-absolving apologia that I believe he used in one of his movies. The heart may want what it wants, but the mind can evaluate whether that want is better denied than indulged, and can keep the heart's wants in check.Robert Cookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06951286299515983901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-92218682352539669032020-03-24T14:32:14.206-05:002020-03-24T14:32:14.206-05:00Crack! Good to see ya back, man.Crack! Good to see ya back, man.etbasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01127908796592267067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-76006831543920680302020-03-24T13:45:12.118-05:002020-03-24T13:45:12.118-05:00"I read the first few pages (at the Amazon li...<br />"I read the first few pages (at the Amazon link) and loved the writing style — full of vivid images and quick observations that are serious and comical. So I put it in my Kindle."<br /><br />Cruel neutrality morphing into political incorrectness.<br /><br />But that's OK. <br />StephenFearbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05189831095663157811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-68441985969348373842020-03-24T13:17:59.992-05:002020-03-24T13:17:59.992-05:00@Ron Winkleheimer, it would take at least an hour ...@Ron Winkleheimer, it would take at least an hour to get the lethargic, set-in-their-ways HR department spun up. Big Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15831645119853118904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-80531160937064541392020-03-24T12:40:43.991-05:002020-03-24T12:40:43.991-05:00Believe all women!Believe all women!PJ57https://www.blogger.com/profile/03285727657881027661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-86505680669469587572020-03-24T11:59:37.919-05:002020-03-24T11:59:37.919-05:00"the malignant chaos of a purposeless univers..."the malignant chaos of a purposeless universe"<br /><br />If "purposeless" universe is your starting point, there's not much available to distinguish "malignant" chaos from any other kind of chaos, other than (perhaps) whatever pointless purpose we create for ourselves (which he would probably have to say was doomed to failure because of that mortality thingy). If that's where you're starting from, the reality of death creates so many dead ends.Richard Dolanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12735773524374061429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-56125138955679566092020-03-24T11:37:35.406-05:002020-03-24T11:37:35.406-05:00Woody made a movie called "Sweet and Lowdown&...<br />Woody made a movie called "Sweet and Lowdown" with Sean Penn. I don't see it mentions much. It's remarkable because it's wholesome. JZhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06058503888667076896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-34180075186482611042020-03-24T11:12:49.706-05:002020-03-24T11:12:49.706-05:00I found my dog-eared copy of Side Effects last wee...I found my dog-eared copy of Side Effects last week and have been laughing since. Guy was funny; I may have Without Feathers around here too. And I've been thinking about rewatching the comedies, just to see if they have still have the magic.<br /><br />His 'serious' movies bored me from the start, so I haven't seen most of them.<br /><br />Narr<br />No time to follow the ins and outs of Sinatra-Farrow-Allen family pathologies<br /><br />Narrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14043247682000851606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-47105088733366436232020-03-24T11:06:41.200-05:002020-03-24T11:06:41.200-05:00But his art!" I know, I know: my wife is will...<i>But his art!" I know, I know: my wife is willing to give Harvey Weinstein a pass because of all his great movies. (I submit if Harvey had any talent at all he'd make good movies from his prison cell.) </i><br /><br />If women are willing to "Take one for the arts Team" then they should make it known and save everyone time and effort when they get raped. rcoceanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17102201338319611538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-13728957370438122912020-03-24T10:59:50.669-05:002020-03-24T10:59:50.669-05:00I can only pity Woody when I read this : "......I can only pity Woody when I read this : "...Well, given the malignant chaos of a purposeless universe, what’s one little false allegation in the scheme of things? Second, being a misanthropist has its saving grace — people can never disappoint you." <br />What a bleak world for his mind to live in ! No wonder he is anhedonic. AA posted an interview of Billy Graham by WA a while back that contrasted Woody's philosophy with Graham's seemingly simple Christianity. You saw more depth to Graham and more superficiality to Allen.<br /><br />Your glass will always be half full if you wish it to be so.<br /><br />And yes, Woody Allen is a writer with a capital W. I think I'll Kindle that, too.rightguyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16760996383531378440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-37087890224757254602020-03-24T10:59:22.941-05:002020-03-24T10:59:22.941-05:00Dylan wasn't Woody's biological child. Ro...Dylan wasn't Woody's biological child. Ronan (born Satchel) was his only biological child with Mia, though he adopted Dylan and Moses.<br /><br />I don't believe Woody sexually abused her, but I also don't think Mia made it up. My take is that she interpreted ambiguous situations in a way colored by her feelings about Woody and Soon-Yi and then did what she could to make the story stick, not inventing it, but coaching the children in what she thought were the details so that they would confirm the story in court. It's hard to side with either one, but since Woody appears to be the saner, smarter one, one could conclude ought to have known better and acted differently.Lurker21https://www.blogger.com/profile/05692740653467688670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-57526337972239808022020-03-24T10:50:36.605-05:002020-03-24T10:50:36.605-05:00He married his daughter. Not his biological daugh...He married his daughter. Not his biological daughter (not that that matters), but the <br />daughter for whom he was acting in loco parentis. That arrangement gave him a power over her that should not be excused.<br /><br />"But his art!" I know, I know: my wife is willing to give Harvey Weinstein a pass because of all his great movies. (I submit if Harvey had any talent at all he'd make good movies from his prison cell.)DimWhithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01651238285086637443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-85038430014775102052020-03-24T10:39:43.788-05:002020-03-24T10:39:43.788-05:00Not worrying about whether or not you're right...Not worrying about whether or not you're right or wrong, because you're floating on a rock in space, does have a certain logic to it. I'm not sure my parents would accept it, though.The Crack Emceehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08366101526773588864noreply@blogger.com